Pakistan ends DST on November 1, 2009

Pakistan will end its daylight saving time (DST) at midnight (00:00) between Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1, 2009, which will see the clocks move back by one hour.

The nation originally planned to end its DST schedule at midnight between September 30 and October 1 but the end date has been changed. timeanddate.com received confirmation from the Ministry of Water and Power and the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) about the amended date to end DST.

Towns and cities in Pakistan, including Karachi (Jehangir Kothari Parade pictured above) may soon turn the clocks back by one hour.

Pakistan’s national government received mixed reactions from business communities and the general public throughout the DST period. A petition against the daylight saving policy was dismissed at the Lahore High Court earlier in 2009. PEPCO also responded to the petition, stating that DST benefited the country.

Several news sources originally announced that Pakistan would end its DST schedule at midnight (00:00) between September 30 and October 1, 2009. timeanddate.com contacted the Ministry of Water and Power on September 25, 2009, which was prior to when the government decided to amend the DST end date. A spokesperson said at the time that the above-mentioned DST end date was correct. timeanddate.com contacted the ministry again, as well as PEPCO, on September 29, 2009. Spokespeople from both the ministry and PEPCO confirmed that the end date was shifted to November 1, 2009. The PEPCO spokesperson said that the government decided that the clocks would move back to Pakistan Standard Time at midnight (00:00) between October 31 and November 1, 2009.

Moreover, some sources reported that the Pakistan government decided to start DST on April 15 and end DST on November 1 on an annual basis.

Pakistan’s Time Zone

Pakistan is on UTC +5 hours during the non-daylight saving period and moves the clocks one hour forward to UTC +6 hours during the daylight saving period. These are the hours that have been set for Pakistan’s daylight saving arrangement in previous years.

Arizona is an exception to the rule when it comes to daylight saving time in the United States. Most parts of the state, except the Navajo Nation community, observe Mountain Standard Time (MST) all year long. more